A LEGACY OF TEACHING BUILT ON A LOVE OF STUDENTS Dr. Robert Judd, Professor Emeritus Dr. Robert Judd taught and invested in the lives of SNU students for 30 years. During that time, his care and compassion touched many students and faculty in a way that changed them and in the process left behind a shining legacy. Dr. Judd spent a portion of his younger years living on farms in Ohio, where his father always stressed the importance of education and learning. He remembers when his father accepted Christ into his life and how it changed not only his father, but also the life of his family. After Dr. Judd married, he and his wife bought and moved into a small trailer where they lived while attending Olivet Nazarene University. His days at Olivet were not easy, he recalls. It was challenging trying to balance a job, a full course load, and marriage. “I worked all night and took 22 hours one semester. I don’t recommend it,” he laughs. “I regretted it because I had two courses I didn’t do well in.” Inspired by the launch of the Sputnik satellite and the space race, Dr. Judd went back to school to obtain his Master’s degree, which then led him to teach at Huntington University in Indiana. While there, a 1968 visit from Dr. Willis Snowbarger, who was a representative for higher education in the Church of the Nazarene, led Judd to Bethany, Oklahoma where he stayed until he retired in 1998. When Dr. Judd first began teaching biology at SNU, both he and the W. Don Beaver Science Hall were new. He entered at a time when exciting things were happening for the sciences on the SNU campus. and he taught alongside two other new professors, Dr. Sharon Young and Dr. Leo Finkenbinder, and life-long friendships were forged. “WE HAD A GREAT STAFF IN THAT BUILDING,” HE SAYS. “IT WAS A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP. TO THIS DAY I CANNOT RECALL EVER HAVING A SQUABBLE IN OUR DEPARTMENT.” Dr. Judd said he loved his job at SNU and the bonds that he made with his students, many of whom he still keeps in contact with today. “I loved when students would come into my office and flop down in the chair next to me and tell me they were not sure what to do next,” recalls Dr. Judd. “They would talk about their concerns, challenges and their course
Drs. Finkenbinder, Young, and Judd in 1992
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QUICK FACT: Seven SNU science graduates entered the Physician Assistant (PA) program at the OU Health Sciences Center, this Fall.